The Pew Research Center conducted a survey on gun rights in the days after the deadly Aurora, Colorado theater shooting, finding that American opinions on the subject haven’t changed in the wake of the tragedy. From Pew:
Currently, 47% say it is more important to control gun ownership, while 46% say it is more important to protect the rights of Americans to own guns. That is virtually unchanged from a survey earlier this year in April, when 45% prioritized gun control 49% gun rights.
Other recent major shootings also had little effect on public opinion about gun laws. There was no significant change in the balance of opinion about gun rights and gun control after the January, 2011 shooting in Tucson, Arizona in which Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was injured. Nor was there a spike in support for gun control following the shooting at Virginia Tech University in April, 2007.
The poll used 1,010 live telephone interviews with Americans conducted July 26th through the 29th. It has a sampling error of 3.6 percent.
